ARCHER & ARMSTRONG (NEW) #1
So far only Bloodshot has felt like a slight miss for me in the new Valiant line. This almost lost me at the bit where they put the creationism theme park in Ohio and made everyone there fat and stupid. First, we have the best theme park in the country. Second, we aren’t all fat AND stupid. It feels like Van Lente can pick right up the buddy comedy from his Hercules run practically whole cloth. And I
loved Henry’s art on Tobin’s Spider-Girl. It’s almost like I’m getting my Marvel fix.

BATMAN #12
Wow, I really liked Cloonan’s art here. That’s something of a generalization but I thought I picked up some Paul Pope in her Batman. And it wasn’t owl related. It may just be me but I think a key part of a good Batman comic is seeing HOW he’s Batman. The power grid “boosters” may be a hilarious hand waving non-tech babble bit but sure, why not?

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #7
It’s funny to see Belit out of her comfort zone. Like, really funny. On the other hand, I hope she gets to really take it out on someone next issue. Also, Conan’s mom would be the worst mother-in-law in history.

GODZILLA HALF CENTURY WAR #1 (OF 5)
Yep, it’s fun to see just one guy’s name up there on the cover. STOKOE. This was very good and worth the time. I liked the crowded layouts on non-Godzilla pages. It kinda gives the general feeling that we’re very small and meaningless in the presence of such a destructive and unnatural force. It also goes without saying (but I will) that the oscilloscope lettering of the signature scream will take it’s place in the Giffen-Simonson lettering hall of fame.

MASSIVE #3
Alright, prevailing internet sentiment, we’re going to fight. I like Brian Wood’s writing and buy a lot of his comics.

I think this book is terrible.

To name but one thing, using one illustration (the long shot of UnAlaska) and a color filter to take up that much of a comic book is just egregious and stupid. Never you mind that a port town in Alaska should probably be about as underwater as it fucking gets when Hong Kong just has skyscraper tips sticking out. If I somehow misread that and he explains it away as being much farther inland it’s because I was still recovering from that aneurysm inciting color filter.

Further, this is billed as being part 3 of 3. Three of three? Three of what?

The “Direct Action Vessel Kapital and her sister ship The Massive” have given me little for my money. Maybe this felt better and fuller in the pitch process but as produced and delivered (right down to the “Here’s your blurry photo with something circled and a full page of my manifesto memo,” extras) this comic feels so thin you can barely see it when it sidles up to you sideways and takes 4 dollars out of your pocket.

Then again, maybe it’s me. I keep reading about this book’s “fierce intelligence” and “bold direction” but if this is fierce and intelligent then I’m using the wrong dictionary.

DROPPED.

PUNK ROCK JESUS #2 (OF 6)
Fierce, bold, good to look at. That they gave us NOTHING about the twin after the issue one cliffhanger felt incredibly insane to me.

SUPERBOY #12
Just when I get done praising the art in this book there’s no sign of RB Silva here. Instead we get Rocha and Pansica trying to outdo each other in the short skirt / arched back department. Bad news fellas, Marc Silvestri won that belt in 1989 and he’s undefeated. I like the whole moral ambivalence thing here, though. It’s had fits and starts where Kon gets that he’s not supposed to kill people. He is supposed to help people. That’s about as far as he’s gotten. I’ll be back, hopefully with some better art.

THIS WEEK!

Jesus, sorry we’re going long in the comments.

BLOODSHOT (ONGOING) #2
So he got blown up real good in the first issue. I kind of expect more of the same here. Man, I miss Xombi.

HARBINGER (ONGOING) #3
Issue 2 of this is sitting on my iPad so I’d better read that one first.

SAGA #6
Bobsy over at Mindless Ones pulled a pretty direct takedown of this comic a week or so ago and threw in to pretty stark relief what might not work about this stuff under a very hard and well read lens. He also told Kieron Gillen to fuck off in the comments which I didn’t really agree with but they worked it out. Also, apparently, telling someone to fuck off in England is not quite the kiss of death it is here in ‘Merica.

The thing is, though, I like these archetypal stories when done well. They’re archetypal for a reason and that they’re so blatantly human stand-ins doesn’t work against it so much as the book is just being completely honest about it.

This book is saying, “Yes, I’m dressing it up a bit because kids like space and geegaws but this is a morality play, ok? Fairy tale with a little scuffing on the edges, right?”

SAUCER COUNTRY #6
I don’t know, I just keep buying this. I’m so ambivalent but I’m never hand wringing about it. Every time it comes out I’m just like, “Here you go, Ryan and Paul.” Then I wind up half reading it. That’s three too many I’s on the Tommy Brevoort critical validity scale but I don’t buy his comics any more anyway.

LAST WEEK: I went for a double Cloonan with Conan and Batman, but DC screwed the pooch – why let your writer write a longer than usual story, if neither he nor the artist can complete that many pages, and lesser talents need to come on-board? And really, that wasn’t a story that required extra pages. Cloonan was the the only artist named on the cover, and she barely got to draw Batman. What a waste of an artist, and a waste of four bucks on a book I knew I should have dropped awhile ago.
I’m dropping Bloodstrike. I forgot I put it on my standing order!
Unlike J_Smitty, I think the Massive is good. I don’t really understand his issues with it – it’s cool he doesn’t like it, but the reasons given here don’t click with me. It reads a lot like I’d hoped we’d get from a Brian Wood post-apocalyptic series – a thought out “real feeling” world, and believable characters interacting in realistic ways (ie. they all live together because they work together and have common goals, and it feels like that – they aren’t all best buds or worst enemies). I’d argue it is intelligent. He’s not taken any easy paths with the book or put any fan-bait in their whatsoever – there’s no quest going on, no grand romance, just people who are lost and stuck together, having failed their life’s goal. It’s an author whose worked I’ve enjoyed since I was in high-school, telling a story that interests me, with lovely art.
And honestly, I’m not trying start something with everyone’s fave donut man, but I kind of dug that the clone wasn’t mentioned again in Punk Rock Jesus – half the fun for me is that as well as bringing serious storytelling skills to the table, Murphy clearly doesn’t care about audience expectations, nor the ‘done way of doing things’.
Everything else was pretty groovy – not sure why Kindt pulled a Johns and switched narrative techniques mid-story (it went from ‘this is happening now’ in past issues to, ‘someone recounting what happened’ in part three).

This week:

BUTCHER BAKER RIGHTEOUS MAKER #8 – Patience has been rewarded!

DAREDEVIL #17 – Just as the book finds it’s groove, another guest artist. It’s Allred, so I should be stoked, but I’m a little shell-shocked from this book only just getting back from going wonky.

FATALE #7 – I don’t just like Fatale for it’s comic, but for the entire package. It looks and feel nice.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #12 – I’m not only still getting this book, my enjoyment has actually increased with it over the last few issues. Rocafort’s art is just tops on this book, and Lobdell is actually writing good relationships between characters, and building strong female characters – Arsenal and Starfire is still a going concern, and Redhood’s recent love interest made some very good points about the harm done by super-heroes hiding their true nature from girlfriends/boyfriends.
I’m not only going to follow this team to Superman, I’ll be sad they aren’t both sticking with this one.

REVIVAL #2 – Much like New Deadwardians this is a zombie book that knows Romero zombies are pretty boring, and is taking the basic concept to do something much more interesting with it.

SAGA #6 – Still enjoying it, even if the assassin trying to save a child prostitute plot-line feels like a misstep in both the idea and the execution. A real clunker. But, it’s the books only misstep so far, and thus it’s still eagerly anticipated.

SAUCER COUNTRY #6 – What’s that? J_Smitty doesn’t like it? Then you know I’m on board!

“(ie. they all live together because they work together and have common goals, and it feels like that – they aren’t all best buds or worst enemies).”

No, I agree, that’s fine and naturalistic storytelling. I even liked the bit at the end of the most recent issue when Mag locks the door behind him before he talks to Georg about what’s happening with the beacon. That’s a little detail that shows nuanced personality and that’s fine and welcome. A tiny panel telling a BIG story beat that hints toward a divergence.

“I’d argue it is intelligent. He’s not taken any easy paths with the book or put any fan-bait in their whatsoever – there’s no quest going on, no grand romance, just people who are lost and stuck together, having failed their life’s goal. It’s an author whose worked I’ve enjoyed since I was in high-school, telling a story that interests me, with lovely art.”

But there is a quest. Israel states that they’re to get to the bottom of this cataclysm and continue to protect the waters. If anything, they seem to see this as a grand opportunity (or at least some of them do).

The first 60 pages of this haven’t shown me any progress or direction. The trinity of characters have kinda defined their philosophical stances as they relate to each other but the rest has just been staged action on an “Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular” scale. Long rifle shots taking out fast moving zodiacs. Mary stunt piloting a zodiac to take out armed pirates. If pirates are already a thing and getting their butts handed to them in HK wasn’t enough to get them moving then I don’t know how to feel about this malaise of indecision they’re laboring under…

In 60 pages (and billed as 3 of a 3 issue arc) I’ve gotten a 3 person “This is what I think” kitchen table drama on top of THE END OF THE WORLD. The reason I liked his NY4 and 5 stuff was because that kitchen table drama was laid over going to college. This series seems a bad fit for what he wanted to tell and it shows in the execution. I’d much rather read a completely actionless Wood comic than one badly done or with things grafted on to try to appeal more widely. I wish him nothing but success but this series just isn’t for me, it seems.

This is a troubling amount of arm-chair quarterbacking from me because I like Wood’s catalog and it’s clear he CARES about things I care about. In truth I should probably just go with it and trust I’ll be rewarded but I felt VERY ornery.

That double page spread of UnAlaska and the logic leap were just a huge slap to my particular (singular?) sensibilities. It’s like a good buddy just jabbed you with an elbow but it kinda hit in the solar plexus and really pissed you off (probably without meaning to).

Oh, and I was unclear about my “INSANE” comment in the original PR Jesus thought. I was worried about going on and on. I, like you, was fully ON BOARD (vroomvroom TM Mindless Ones) with the lack of mention of the twin. I thought that was a BOLD DIRECTION!

BATWOMAN #12 – looking forward to the two issue Wonder Woman story, even if I had already dropped both Batwoman and Wonder Woman.

BEFORE WATCHMEN RORSCHACH #1 (OF 4) – The accumulated filth of all their rants and snark will foam up about their waists and all the fanboys and posers will look up and shout “Save us!”… and I’ll look down and whisper “No.”

CAPTAIN MARVEL #2 – oy vey. I loved deConnick’s writing on this. I loved her interview on DC Women kicking Ass. I want to give this book a try. But holy hell, Graeme hit it exactly right when he said “the art is fighting with the writing.”

DAREDEVIL #17 – all.red.

EVERYBODY LOVES TANK GIRL #2 – Booga!

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #12 – this is the GL book for me! No corpses. No dismemberment. No dead >choke< parents. Just space cops doing space cop stuff.

HELLBLAZER #294 – stellar stuff, month in and month out. but it's never a good thing when another new family memeber turns up, in'nit?

SAGA #6 – Ben Lipman thinks "the assassin trying to save a child prostitute plot-line feels like a misstep in both the idea and the execution." And I agree. Sad to see The Stalk go, however. She was awesome.

SAUCER COUNTRY #6 – J_Smitty_ is buying this book but is ambivalemnt about it, as am I. This is a story that is wandering a bit, but I'm giving it time before worrying about whether it's good wandering or bad wandering.

SUPERGIRL #12 – Asrar. He has this Manapul thing going on, but with a better line. Love the art.

WALKING DEAD #101 – batter up!

and, hmmmmm. Maybe that: GREEN LANTERN GREEN ARROW TP even if I already have the originals, and the 60s pocket book reprints, and the Best of DC Digest reprints, and even the baxter reprint series (Baxter books! Look it up kids!). But,…. as nice as it would be to have them all in one volume, I hate to say the O'Neill/Adams stories just really don't hold up. And that is not/not troll bait just to get J_Smitty_ and Ben Lipman to stop fighting !

But before I go, a nice kudos to Marvel for putting ELEKTRA ASSASIN back in print. No snark, no innuendo. This should be one of those things that always sells, and I really don't know why Marvel keeps playing peek-a-boo with their backlist.

COMICS! I'll be reading them more than EVER as Black Kiss II has me terrified of ever going to another movie.